Lifting the lid - Formula One helmets uncovered

Before the 2009 Hungarian F1 Grand Prix, helmets only really made the headlines when a driver decided to sport a new livery or auction one for charity. But Felipe Massa's dramatic accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix brought driver safety - and in particular the great strides made in helmet design over the past few years - into much sharper focus.

Back in Formula One racing's early days, it was speed, not safety that took precedence. Legendary world champion Juan Manuel Fangio preferred to race in a simple balaclava. But by 1953, even Fangio couldn't hold back the tide, and helmets were made compulsory. The ones used nowadays, however, bear little resemblance to their primitive 1950's predecessors and are the product of years of research and development.

As with all aspects of the sport's safety, the FIA sets the standard, and the governing body's most recent evolution of their helmet regulations, FIA 8860-2004, was developed over an eight-year period. Drafted by UK testing facility, Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), the new criteria were adopted by the three main Formula One helmet manufacturers, Arai, Bell and Schuberth, and the resulting homologated helmets were made compulsory by the World Motor Sport Council in 2004.

Although the exact composition of the materials that make up a Formula One helmet is a secret closely guarded by the manufacturers, the rigid outer shell features a couple of layers, usually fibre-reinforced resin over carbon fibre. Underneath, there is a layer of aramid (also used in many bulletproof vests) and another much thicker layer of polyethylene, a soft and deformable material, which is covered with the same flameproof material used in drivers' overalls. Smaller quantifies of aluminium, magnesium and the binding agent epoxy resin are all added to the mix too.

The typical weight of a Formula One helmet is a remarkably minimal 1250 grams. The lighter the helmet, the less weight it adds to the driver's head under extreme G-forces, which in turn lessens the risk of whiplash-type injuries when something goes wrong. But as Massa's accident in Hungary so dramatically demonstrated, a helmet also needs to be super strong, so it can absorb impacts and resist penetration during a crash.

With these (somewhat incompatible) aims of being both tough and lightweight, it's no wonder the effort that goes into crafting a helmet that can fulfil the FIA's demands is immense. First, the driver's head is scanned to create a life-size model. This sculpted replica is then wrapped, layer by layer, with 120 mats of high-performance carbon fibre to ensure the perfect fit.

With every thread of fibre consisting of about 12,000 'microthreads', each of which is about 15 times thinner than a human hair, the process is as expensive as it is cutting edge. In one helmet, the total length of all the threads is approximately 16,000 kilometres. Over the same distance you could drive from Tokyo to London.

The individual layers are then bonded together in an autoclave (a type of 'industrial pressure cooker'), hardening under high pressure and at a constant temperature of 132°C. In addition, the parts which will be subject to huge loads once the helmet is in use, like the visor cut-out, are reinforced with supplementary materials, like aluminium and titanium.

As well as fulfilling its primary role of protecting a driver, the helmet must also allow him to see and breathe. Ventilation is provided through a small intake at the front, which filters the air to clean it of any motor oil, carbon and brake dust particles. Up to 10 litres of fresh air flow into the helmet's interior per second.

The visor is made from a three millimetre-thick piece of specially-devised clear polycarbonate. Combining excellent impact protection, with flame resistance and excellent visibility, it's by far the best solution. Most drivers tend to use tinted visors, which are coated with anti-fogging chemicals to prevent them misting up. In addition, there are several transparent tear-off strips attached to the outside, which the driver can remove as and when the visor gets dirty.

With equally strict safety standards to live up to, helmets are tested just as thoroughly as the cars. Fitted on an imitation metal 'head', and equipped with sensors that measure deceleration, the helmet is mounted on a sledge running on vertical track. To replicate an impact, the helmet (and 'head') are then lifted to a specified height and dropped on to a variety of objects, including a flat surface, a sharp edge, and a half-sphere.

The helmet test facility at TRL boasts a drop tower over 15.5m tall, which is capable of accelerating objects through gravity by up to around 17m/s (63km/h). A helmet designed to meet the FIA's 8860 standards needs to withstand an impact of 9.5m/s (34.2 km/h). At this speed, the sensors must never display a deceleration of more than 300g, while 225 joules of energy must be dissipated.

In line with the regulations, helmets also undergo a variety of further deformation and fragmentation evaluations, as well as procedures to test the HANS device, which prevents a driver's head from hitting the steering wheel. There's also a compulsory fire test, during which the helmet is subjected to an 800°C flame for 45 seconds. To pass, temperatures inside the helmet are not allowed to exceed 70°C, otherwise it is back to the drawing board. The visor, meanwhile, has its protective qualities evaluated by having projectiles shot at it at 500km/h. The impact marks must not exceed a depth of 2.5mm.

On top of these all-important safety tests, helmets also go through stringent wind-tunnel trials to ensure the design creates minimal drag when the driver is travelling at speed. All in all then, from start to finish developing a Formula One helmet is a long-winded and pricey process. But considering that Massa is already up and about - and talking about getting back behind the wheel - it's clearly worth all the effort.

Original article from the official Formula 1 website
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How could you get back in a race car after a wreck like that?

People often ask me, "How could you get back in a race car after a wreck like that?" usually referring to my tumble at Talladega in 1996.

The only explanation I can give them is to try and describe how a driver thinks. Oh boy!

On race day, drivers don't wake up in the morning thinking about the possibility of being in a big wreck. Instead, they're focused on the last few laps of practice the day before the race, the info they can give the crew chief before the car rolls to the starting line and preparing for that day's race and the idea of winning.

You see, drivers are all about finding speed. That is where their total concentration is. They understand and accept that wrecking is a part of their job. But their minds are occupied with finding a way to be better than the driver next to them. A lot of energy and effort goes into finding an area on the track or an adjustment in the car that translates to having an advantage.

This may explain why after a particularly scary wreck, like the one we saw Monday at Watkins Glen, how drivers seem so calm in their interviews. Throughout all of their racing lives, drivers are obsessed with the idea of competing and winning. That is what occupies their minds.

Because of this, you don't immediately realize what you just experienced. You have no consideration for how spectacular a wreck might have been. The only things you're thinking about is that your day is done, that you lost points in the standings and, possibly, that you just destroyed your most productive car.

I'm not saying this is normal; I'm just saying this is how a driver thinks.

My wife's explanation, drawing on years of frustrated experience, is that race car drivers lack that little voice most people apparently have in their heads that warns them of danger and tells them they need to be cautious. For many years, she would get angry with me and ask, "At what point are you going to listen to that little voice telling you to slow down?" Only recently did she realize that it's not that I ignore the little voice. Rather, it isn't there.

I don't ever recall hearing it, and I guess it could explain why us race car drivers aren't afraid of wrecking or getting back into the car after The Big One, and why most fans don't understand our reaction to the question, "How can you get back in the car?"

For the three drivers most affected by Monday's wreck – Sam Hornish, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton – there will be little effect from the crash as they move to Michigan for the next event. I know this because they unstrapped and exited their cars. I know this because I understand drivers. And I know this because mentally, after the first few laps of practice this Friday, their attention will be on Sunday's race and how to make their cars just a little faster for it.

But I left some wiggle room in saying "little effect," because you cannot subject yourself to that kind of abuse and not have it affect you physically. If it happens often enough and becomes exaggerated, it ultimately affects others aspects of your life that help mold you as an athlete or competitor.

In the case of Gordon, if he exacerbated the problems with his back, that won't necessarily affect how deep he can drive into the corner and it won't impair his ability to mash the gas pedal in the middle of a turn. But it will have an impact in his daily life, concerning things he takes for granted like quality of sleep, which can be aggravating and disruptive.

After my wreck at Talladega, the biggest problem I had wasn't inside the car, but outside of it. I lost sleep because of the pain and discomfort. The injury changed my routine without me even realizing it.

Any driver on any given Sunday understands that to beat the best, you need to be at your best. While I claim drivers don't spend much time thinking about the possibility of being in a wreck and are quick to dismiss ones they've walked away from, it doesn't necessarily mean they are not affected by them.

I can assure you that over the past few days, all of these three drivers gave consideration to how lucky they where. They appreciate the safety improvements that NASCAR has made to the cars and the gains made in the quality of their seats, helmets and HANS device. They appreciate being healthy, which leads to perhaps the greatest appreciation: Despite experiencing a violent wreck just a few days ago, they are healthy enough to compete this weekend. Because that's how drivers think.

By Ricky Craven - NASCAR Driver
Ricky Craven is one of a select group of drivers to have won races in each of NASCAR's Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Trucks series. Craven also won Rookie of the Year honors in the Cup, Busch and Busch North circuits, becoming the first to earn the honor in three major NASCAR touring series.

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